Pioneering Chicana Historian Honored by Obama, NEH

Dr. Vicki Ruiz,Distinguished Professor of History and Chicano/Latino Studies at the University of California, Irvine

Chicana historian Vicki Ruiz has been named a recipient of the 2014 National Humanities Medal, awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the President of the United States. Dr. Ruiz is being honored for pioneering the history of twentieth-century Latinas in a distinguished career that began with collecting oral testimony from Mexican immigrants who worked in U.S. canning factories. She was the fourth Mexican-American woman to ever receive a doctorate in history in the United States.

Dr. Ruiz is among 10 honorees from elite universities nationwide who will accept the award from President Barack Obama at the White House on Thursday, Sept. 10. The ceremony will be live-streamed at 3 p.m. at www.whitehouse.gov/live.

MALCS congratulates Dr. Ruiz on this prestigious award which recognizes the importance of Chicana/Latina history!